Spring Break
Editorial: A thank you to our facilities staff
State Hornet Staff
Issue date: 5/13/09 Section: Opinion
The screensaver on one of the computers in Sacramento State's Facilities Services department electric shop reads: "The employees in the ELECTRIC SHOP are the best kept secret on campus."
The State Hornet believes this should be expanded to read, "The facilities, trades and maintenance workers are the best kept secret on campus."
These workers are the unsung heroes who keep this university running on a daily basis.
These workers include, but are not limited to, electricians, plumbers, custodians, grounds keepers, painters, mechanics and carpenters.
They repair leaking roofs, replace broken lights, maintain the existing and build new infrastructure.
Most days as our facilities workers pass by us in their golf carts on their way to make our campus a little more presentable we hardly give them a second glance.
Joe Manzella, supervising electrician for Facilities Services, has worked at Sac State for 27 years.
"If the people on campus never see a problem, that's because we do our job and they don't know we are there," Manzella said. "That's how it's supposed to be."
While they try to remain as unobtrusive as possible, the Hornet feels these workers and the work they do needs to be publicly recognized.
In these tough times, their jobs are getting more difficult.
When Manzella started at Sac State, he worked in an electric shop that had eight employees. Now, the same shop has only seven employees. This may seem insignificant, but in those 27 years the number of buildings and the student population has nearly doubled.
Manzella said many of the electrical panels his shop maintains on campus are 50 years old. For many of these panels, replacement parts are no longer available. When equipment fails, the shop manufactures many of the replacement parts itself.
"We keep it running," Manzella said. "Fortunately, we have old-timers who know the old stuff and teach the new guys how to fix it."
The State Hornet believes this should be expanded to read, "The facilities, trades and maintenance workers are the best kept secret on campus."
These workers are the unsung heroes who keep this university running on a daily basis.
These workers include, but are not limited to, electricians, plumbers, custodians, grounds keepers, painters, mechanics and carpenters.
They repair leaking roofs, replace broken lights, maintain the existing and build new infrastructure.
Most days as our facilities workers pass by us in their golf carts on their way to make our campus a little more presentable we hardly give them a second glance.
Joe Manzella, supervising electrician for Facilities Services, has worked at Sac State for 27 years.
"If the people on campus never see a problem, that's because we do our job and they don't know we are there," Manzella said. "That's how it's supposed to be."
While they try to remain as unobtrusive as possible, the Hornet feels these workers and the work they do needs to be publicly recognized.
In these tough times, their jobs are getting more difficult.
When Manzella started at Sac State, he worked in an electric shop that had eight employees. Now, the same shop has only seven employees. This may seem insignificant, but in those 27 years the number of buildings and the student population has nearly doubled.
Manzella said many of the electrical panels his shop maintains on campus are 50 years old. For many of these panels, replacement parts are no longer available. When equipment fails, the shop manufactures many of the replacement parts itself.
"We keep it running," Manzella said. "Fortunately, we have old-timers who know the old stuff and teach the new guys how to fix it."
Be the first to comment on this story